Welcome, come on in. You will find short fiction stories, poems, and also short opinion pieces every single word waiting patiently to be read by you.
So relax and enjoy, READING PRACTICE.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Tommy's Monster

Tommy Pinklets was only 7 years old. A curious, timid boy who was very smart, and relatively good was laying in his new 'Big Boy' bed with his Scooby-Doo comforter pulled securely to his chin. Tommy laid there in the dark amongst all the shadows and strange sounds of the night trembling with fear. Tommy was very afraid of the dark. So, that alone, not to mention the shadows the big tree makes dancing on his wall that at times seemed to be very alive, dangerous and taunting him. All that alone could have Tommy so scared in his brand new 'Big Boy' bed all alone but tonight Tommy's problems were much worse than darkness, shadows, and sounds he couldn't identify. No, tonight was far worse because as Tommy laid shaking under the protection of his blanket pulled tight to his chin he was sure there was a monster waiting right below where he was laying waiting to devour him. Tommy also knew that tonight was the night that the monster would finally eat him. Tommy could tell by his breathing he was finally done playing with his frail, timid, blonde haired toy and all that was left was to eat him alive in his brand new 'Big Boy' bed. Tommy knew the monster was there and he also knew that it meant him harm. Even worse still, Tommy was also sure that tonight no one could even save him. He knew he couldn't be saved tonight because tonight the monster finally meant to have him and Tommy didn't think even his own Daddy, big as he was even, would be able to stop the monster when he finally came for him. Tommy hid under the protection of his covers frozen in fear. Trembling and terrified he stared at his bedroom door. Cracked open, but oh so far away. He knew if he could reach it before the monster got him he might be able to get to his parents bedroom down the hall. But, Daddy slept with the door closed, and what if he didn't get up in time to save him? The monster would be very angry at Tommy for fleeing from him indeed. He would probably eat him extra hard for a stunt like that. Tommy stayed frozen, shivering in fear trying to decide what to do. It was at that moment that he heard the monster shift positions. The sound hit him like a spike through his spine. It definitely moved. He heard the rustling clearly. It was definitely a very big monster, of that, Tommy was certain. Very, very big, with sharp claws, and rows of huge teeth like the sharks he had watched on the television with Daddy before bed. It was still for now but it was finding it's position and biding it's time. Soon it would leap out and pounce him for sure. Tommy glanced at his Sponge Bob nightlight by the door for reassurance. None there. Sponge Bob only stared back blankly in his birthday hat and added to the scary shadows being cast on his walls. He noticed his new baseball bat by the door. Maybe if he could reach the bat he could fight the monster off until Daddy could get down the hall. It was his best plan so far but, leaving the safety of the covers felt too dangerous. Every child knows that monsters can't get you under the covers. Tommy's eyes were getting heavier and he was afraid he would fall asleep before coming up with a better plan than the baseball bat. A yawn left his lips right before something brushed his foot. Tommy jerked his feet up quickly into a criss-crossed apple sauce position. Certain that the monsters tail had just brushed them he pulled his Scooby-Doo blanket tightly over his head and began to pray hard for God to protect him through the night as intense fear and adrenaline raced through him. The full protection of the blanket and his prayers soothed him and he felt safe but, not safe enough to uncross his legs of course. He laid there fully covered from head to toe and prayed hard over and over for God's protection. Tommy prayed and stayed covered up tightly until the Sandman finally took him. The next morning in the safety of the sunlight Tommy got out of his 'Big Boy' bed and looked underneath it. The monster was gone. Only his new baseball glove and ball were under there. Still wrapped with the rubber band Daddy had put on it after he oiled it up so it would be good and broke in. The monster had been defeated for another night by the power of prayer and the impenetrable power, and safety of a child's blankets. Tommy felt an intense feeling of relief wash over him. He had made it. He decided he wouldn't tell Daddy about the monster because he didn't want him to worry. Tommy was a big boy now after all, and he was fairly sure he knew how to stop the monster if it came back. Tommy grabbed his new glove from under the bed and decided he would go ask his Daddy if it was broke in enough to play some catch with today. The monster forgotten Tommy headed downstairs to begin his day.

7 comments:

One thing about the way your page appears on my screen. I've seen this once before on another blog, but since hundreds of other blog appear just fine on my screen I can't help but think there is something different in the settings of your page set up.

For me, your page appears huge, spanning beyond the borders of my viewing screen so that I have to scroll back and forth to read your content. The paragraphs are intense expanse and concentration of words in a wide condensed block. That combined with the white letters on black background made it extremely uncomfortable as I had to strain my eyes to read it.

Unlike the other blog where I encountered a similar problem, your comment box is normal sized for me and it's no problem to leave comments.

Sorry, but I don't intend this to be negative criticism, but hopefully a help to you. You might want to look at it yourself or have somebody look at it from another computer. My thought is that you might need to readjust your page width settings in the Blogger layout.

In any case, hope to see more from you, but I hope my next visit is not so painful to my eyes and brain.

Oh, and one more thing. To make your blog more comment friendly you might want to consider disabling the Captcha feature. Most bloggers who have it don't realize it is enabled so they don't know that others encounter this if they want to leave a comment.

Here's a post that might be of some help to you:

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/search?q=disabling+word+verification

While at that site you might want to check out the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge that's coming up. Great way to network, get your blog seen by others, and hone your blogging chops.

Beautiful job! So much easier to read and the page looks clean and organized. Now to get out and start promoting your site to draw in some readers. I don't know if you checked out the A to Z Challenge but you can draw some serious traffic to your blog if you participate and put a little effort into it. The first year we did it in 2010 nearly everybody boosted their followers by 100 and established many relationships that have lasted to this day. Check it out and check out some of the cohost blogs. You need to get some action going here and on your other site. I plan to enter all four of my blogs in the Challenge just as I did last year. It's not really all that difficult if you plan ahead. Hope to see you with us.

Give Us Your Email Address and Have RP Delivered Right To Your Inbox!

Reading Practice Views

Subscribe To Reading Practice

Thank You So Much For Stopping By.

It really means the world to me that you have taken the time to come by and read the stuff I have shared with you here. This material is just as dear to me as my comedy stuff but in a slightly different way and I really hope you enjoyed what you read and that you come back for more Reading Practice really soon. Thanks again for stopping by.

P.S. Click the links on this page to share us with your friends and feel free to post any comments you want I will definatly enjoy hearing what you thought of your visit. Also become a member today and you can also follow us by Email as well with the links you can find above. Bye for now. Come back soon and often! I'll be waiting right here in the dark.